Back to Home Page | Back to Index of Christian Walk
Our Attitude Towards Suffering
(Overcomer Wu)
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.” -- 1 Peter 4:12
Most of the divine virtues that are to be formed into our Christian character are the fruits of suffering. Afflictions are designed by God to expose and soften the rough edges and the un-transformed areas of our lives. If we take afflictions from God's hand and humbly allow them to operate in us, they show us the evil of our own heart, revealing our weaknesses, faults, and blemishes and making us aware of spiritual pitfalls we're in without realizing it. Furthermore, they will consume the dross of self and worldliness; they will humble our pride, temper human ambitions, and quell the fire of inordinate passions.
In no other school can some of us learn the lessons of patience, kindness, tolerance and forbearance—except in the school of suffering. One of the methods which God uses to perfect the character of Christ in us is to permit us to suffer wrongfully, because it is one of the hardest things for us to bear. Most of us think that our abundant suffering is quite enough, but to suffer wrongfully and at the hands of the self-righteous and even some who deemed themselves to be servants of God is surely too much. But Peter, speaking of suffering wrongfully, says, “But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Pet 2:20-21). The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the travesty of justice in all of human history. Yet the fruits of Christ's unjust sufferings are the death of sin – of course not of His own but ours – and the ushering in of a new holy life in righteousness. Thus, our Lord Himself has set an example for us to follow, but thank the Lord that He has also given us the ability to walk accordingly, through the death and resurrection power of Christ at our disposal.
Unjust and wrongful affliction is a very sharp tool to use in fashioning a soul. We should be comforted to know that when a gemologist has a very expensive stone to shape into a most expensive custom jewelry, he uses a very hard and sharp tool to cut the stone. Likewise, when God wants to carve a beautiful aspect of the image of Christ into us (Rom 8:29), He uses the sharp tool of wrongful suffering. It is difficult to receive injury from others and return kindness for it, but God is not finished with us until the full pattern of Christ has been deeply in-wrought into the fabric of our souls.
It pains my heart to learn that the the nation of Armenia, which is comprised of over 95% Christians, would after suffering genocide for centuries at the hands of the Ottoman empire and again another attempt at genocide which claimed the lives of about 1.5 millions among the remnants of Armenians in 1915, which by the way forced many of them to migrate to California, USA at that time. Then more recently they were again victimized by a great catastrophic earthquake that killed 24,817 people in December 7, 1988. It almost seems that God has particularly singled out His own people to suffer more than even the worldly people. Yet it warms my heart to see that in spite of all the great sufferings the Armenians have gone through, their faith in God was not shaken but rather strengthen. I have yet to meet an Armenian who is not a good faithful Christian.
In short, we cannot avoid suffering at the hands of others. However, in the final analysis, it is up to us to derive greater spiritual good from it than mere wrongful suffering and unjust treatment. Turning lions into lambs, and ravens into doves. Let us look to Him that this great transformation may be wrought in us.
One of the greatest pitfalls of suffering injustice, discrimination, and wrongful treatment is to be bitter. But perhaps you say, “How can I help from being bitter? It cuts down to my heart.” Here is a lesson of what we should do when we are hurt by sorrow. No human hand can heal a wounded heart. It must be given to God (Luke 4:18; Matt 11:18-30). Perhaps you have tried to lay your hurt down and you cannot. You have resisted the temptation to bitterness and you find yourself overwhelmed. You want to love, but your heart is numb with grief and you feel that you are not victorious.
Firstly, we need to realize that many people confuse love with sentiment or emotion. Love is more than an emotion. Love is a principle. Love is not an emotion or a sentiment. Among other characteristics given to us in 1 Corinthians 13, love is unselfish. Love considers not itself, but always the good of the loved one. Love does not act upon the basis of emotion, but the life of Christ within us. Emotion is unstable. The question is not what kind of feelings you have, but what you do in your action. That is the index of the real man, the will, and not the emotion. Oftentimes a good parent's heart yearns to express affection toward one of his children, yet he knows that for the good of his child he must chastise him. In that case. The parent acted on the principle of love instead of an emotion.
Secondly, we need to reckon ourselves dead to our fleshly reaction. Paul says that after we have died with Christ, our death is to be made real to us by reckoning, that is, by taking a position of faith and counting the thing done which you do not feel is done (Rom 6:1-14). “Reckon… yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:11). The bitterness is not yours as long as you refuse to accept it and do not act on it. If you are abiding in Christ and Christ in you, His love for the unlovely is yours even when you have no sense of affection.
Thirdly, we need to see and accept the injury as coming from God, and as intended to be an aid to us as it indeed is. See God behind the person who has injured you. When we take see God is the Sovereign One, we will naturally not be bitter and resentful against man who are mere instruments of His divine purpose. Then let go of the hurt, and place your broken heart in God’s hands.
Lastly, it is also important for us to be so identified with Christ and allow His forgiving Love to fill our heart, because the Lord said that unless we can forgive others their trespasses against us, neither can He forgive us our trespasses against Him. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt 6:14-15). Pray to God, “Father, I thank you for pouring out Your love in my heart through the Holy Spirit; therefore, Your forgiving love is mine. With Your love in me and flowing out through me, I can forgive everyone of any offenses and hurt they inflict upon me.” As we forgive the very ones who have perpetrated great injustice and hurt on us, refusing to yield to bitterness or resentment, God will also forgive our countless sins and trespasses that we commit against Him and freed us from the root of bitterness, anger, and resentment, which will cause us to fall short of the grace of God (Heb 12:15). “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).
In closing, let us thank the Lord for the suffering and affliction He has allowed in our lives, and “Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:13). “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor 4:17).